September 3, 2022 • 39 mins
"Piece by piece, the layers of protection around Ruby are pulled away. It is into this space that the message arrives on Facebook."
It all begins with a greeting from an unknown woman over Facebook, offering sixteen year-old Ruby a job in a computer shop.
Full of hopes and expectations of a better life, and wanting to escape from the pain of her very recent past, Ruby journeys across the sea to the city of Pampanga and directly into her worst nightmare.
Far from her quiet mountain home, Ruby finds herself trapped alongside a group of other girls inside an urban online sex trafficking den, where she will be given no choice but to perform acts she never could have imagined in front of a screen.
Ruby realizes, too late, that it was all a trick.
Issues this episode explores:
- What exactly is the Online Sexual Exploitation of Children?
- Why is our instinct to turn away from this crime?
Show website: fightofmy.life
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CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence. Listener discretion is advised.
Please seek help if you need to.
To speak to a trained crisis supporter at Lifeline (24-hours): 131 114
To report a crime to the Australian Federal Police: 1800 333 000
For emergency assistance: 000
FOR THE PHILIPPINES:
If you have suspicions about the occurrence of online sexual exploitation of children in your community, immediately report to: www.1343actionline.ph
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Finding Ruby is a production of Cadence Productions.
Show written and edited by Nikki Florence Thompson and Rich Thompson.
Additional production by Lydia Bowden, Anthea Godsmark, and Brendan Ridley.
Sound design and mix by Rich Thompson and Brendan Ridley.
Graphic design and social media by Sayaka Miyashita, Carla Moran, and Alyssa Sheridan.
Director of photography is Brad Conomy.
Matt Tooker is the executive producer.
Show Music
- "Homeland" by Searching for Light, featuring Jenna Carlie.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
(bright music)- [Announcer] Cadence productions.
- [Rich] Before we begin a warning,this podcast contains
descriptions of sexual violence.
Listener discretion is advised.
(fast drum roll)- [Announcer] March, 2013,
The Siaghs the Philippines.
(spooky music)- [Rich] A message lights up the screen.
(00:23):
It's like a beacon.
(phone chiming) Hello.
And then seconds later,(phone chiming)
would you like a job?
The words are almost luminous.
They seem to expand into that small spaceand fill it with new energy.
Ruby sits alone in the quiet darkof her two room home
nestled in the mountains.
(00:46):
Her only company the breeze rustlingthrough the bamboo walls.
She's been alone for two years now,since around the time she turned 14.
So for Ruby, this message feelslike a spark of
recognition, of connection.
(01:06):
Would you like a job?
It isn't just a question.
Not in Ruby's mind.
Not after everything that has taken place.
No, it's a signpost.
It feels, she thinks then,like nothing short of a Godsend.
(01:26):
(phone chimes)In the following weeks Ruby
chats more with the strangeron the other end of the screen.
The woman is polite,helpful, friendly even.
The job is for a computershop she tells Ruby.
This is good Ruby thinksbecause she excelled
in her computer class at school.
This is something she knows she can do.
(01:49):
(phone chirping)The woman promises her room and board
in exchange for her laborand Ruby, gaining courage,
makes her own requests.
If possible, she asks,may she work at night
so she can have timefree to study in the day.
(phone chirps)The woman agrees and to
prove she means what she saysshe transfers some money to
(02:10):
Ruby, to pay for the fareto take her halfway across the Philippines
to the city of Pampanga whereshe will begin her new life.
Though the plans continue togrow over the next few months,
(02:31):
Ruby doesn't tell anyone elseabout her ongoing conversation.
Not her friends, definitelynot her siblings.
She keeps her excitementand her nerves tightly buckled inside her.
She doesn't want anyone totry to talk her out of it,
or worse, to reprimand her for it.
The fresh scar on her arm reminds herthat this is a real possibility.
(02:58):
Ruby comes to think ofthis woman as a friend,
as someone who sees hervalue and potential.
When so much has been lost,when so much has been
damaged in Ruby's lifeover the last few years,
this woman seems to offer a way out.
This Ruby believes is her open door.
Her second chance.
(03:19):
The opportunity to leavethe mountains of grief,
loneliness, and pain behind her.
But of course, the woman on the other sideof the chat box is not
who she says she is.
She's called Nadine.
Nadine and her husband,Pedro, were pioneers.
(03:42):
One might even call them entrepreneursof a crime that would later
be named OSAC, o s a c,the online sexual
exploitation of children.
One of the fastest growing majorcrimes on our planet today,
a crime, they were slowlybut surely pulling Ruby into.
(04:05):
With every keystroke. Ruby was unwittinglybecoming their next victim.
- [Ruby] That was actually, I could say,the darkest moment of my life actually.
They were padlocked inside the house.
(04:26):
I couldn't imagine how a girl could livein a place like that.
♪ Far in the distance. ♪♪ There's a promise. ♪
- [Man] That is a typicalstory that they can think
of a time in their lifewhen they could never
have imagined getting sexually involvedin images of children.
♪ I put it on the alterthough it was mine. ♪
(04:49):
They detected that yeah,a crime is being committed in this place.
There are victims that need to be rescuedand perpetrators that need
to be brought to justice.
♪ We're all waiting in the in between. ♪- [Rich] From Cadence
productions, this is finding Ruby,a true story of loss and trauma
(05:10):
at the hands of one of theworld's fastest growing crimes,
but also a story of triumph,of rescue and resilience.
- [Woman 1] She was shaking,but there's so much conviction.
There's so much strength and courage.
- [Woman 2] I was thinkingthat their lives were ruined
that they were destroyed.
But now I know I was wrong,cause (laughter) they've been redeemed.
(05:35):
- [Woman 1] I know that there are kidswho are actually waiting
for us to rescue them.
It empowers me more.
- [Rich] This is thestory of 16 year old Ruby
thrown into the fight of her lifeand of those who have chosen
to come alongside her and make itthe fight of their lives too.
(05:56):
Episode one, the trick.
- [Ruby] I grew up being a farmer.
I mean, my parents were both farmers.
Farming was the only sourceof living that we had.
- [Rich] Ruby's storybegins slowly, uneventfully.
(06:16):
For the first 12 years of her life,the mountains shelter her,
despite the poverty around her,she feels safe.
She's the youngest in along train of siblings.
Ten children rise in anascending line above her
and the gap between herand the eldest is vast.
(06:38):
The family has two homeswhen Ruby is growing up.
One in the town whereher older siblings live
and study and work tohelp contribute to costs
and one in the country aboutan hour and a half's walk away.
This is where Ruby livesshoulder to shoulder
with her parents.
(06:59):
The two room countryhouse is small and simple,
built with her father's hands.
The walls are bamboo andthe roof is thatched,
but it is cool with the breeze and warmwith the presence of her parents.
It is home.
She loves the rich green all around herand the sound the birds make all day long,
(07:22):
always with something to say.
It is a half hour walk tothe small mountain school.
Ruby discovers herethat she loves learning.
Not only this, but she's good at it.
- [Ruby] My teachers sent me actuallyto some spelling bee contest.
So I got to be with otherkids from other school.
(07:46):
Slowly or little by littleI learned to socialize with other people.
That's when I started toactually to be more playful
and more outgoing.
- [Rich] The pattern of Ruby's lifeis a steady peaceful one.
(08:06):
In the mornings her parents wake earlyand make coffee together before
they head out to the farm.
Work is hard for them.
Ruby knows this.
- [Ruby] There are days that theywould bring me to the farm,
but they wouldn't actually allow meto do the farming job because
I was too young for that.
But I was actually exposedthe things that they do,
(08:28):
how hard it is to put food on our table.
- [Rich] Ruby is close to her father.
He's gentle with her andthey share a close bond.
- [Ruby] My father loved me so muchthat I didn't even have a memory
of him even raising his voice.
(08:51):
I don't have a memory ofhim being mad toward me.
- [Rich] Farm life by its very nature,affords unexpected moments of lightness.
One day as they are walking home,they come across a very steep hill
that they need to walk down.
(09:12):
Ruby asks her father for a piggyback ride.
Eager to help his daughterhe kneels down so she can
better reach his back,but he forgets one thing.
He is still wearing his boloknife, a large farming tool.
It looks like a machete.
He's wearing it around his waist.
As he bends down the knife pushesinto the ground.
(09:35):
Before he realizes that, he's overbalancedand he starts to tumble.
- [Ruby] My father rolled down the hilland instead of helping him,
I laughed so very loud and ran after him.
And I didn't even realizethat it was it dangerous for my father.
I just, at that moment,I just saw the funny side of my father.
(09:57):
I just ran after him.
And that made our way homeeven faster.
(laughter)- [Rich] During this time
in her life, Ruby dreams,often of what she will
be when she is older.
- [Ruby] Since I was a dreamer,I really had a lot of who I want to be
(10:22):
when I was a younger or while growing up.
So there was a time thatI wanted to be a nurse
because I wanted to take care sick people.
There were times that I alsowanted to be a Polish woman.
There were also timesthat I want to be a teacher.
So I had a lot of thingsthat I really wanted to
(10:44):
do when I was growing up.
- [Rich] Lying beside hermother and father together
in the one room in thewarmth of the small home.
Ruby's big dreams seem not only possible,but as far as she can
see, entirely achievable.
But of course Ruby couldnot have seen or imagined
(11:07):
what was coming next.
(crowd talking)I was recently camping with my family
at one of those campgroundswhere there's a ton of
(11:28):
activities for children,one of those activities
was a jumping pillow.
This might be an Australian thing.
It's basically a giant jumping castle.
The size of say half a basketball court,but with no walls, it's
surrounded by sand.
It's a little dangerous, buta lot of fun for the kids.
(11:50):
Anyway, I was standing there watching onwishing I was a kid
when I got talking to another dad.
We ended up having a great conversation,chatting for a long time,
about all manner of things.
Then I started talking abouthow I was working on this podcast.
I told him how it was a passion projectof the creative agency
(12:11):
that I help run, Cadence,and how one of our clients,
International Justice Mission,or IJM as their known, had
given me a backstage passof sorts, to tell the story.
He asked me about IJM and Igot to chat about their work.
How they're a globalorganization dedicated
to protecting the world's most vulnerablefrom violence and exploitation.
(12:36):
I told him some of thedetails of Ruby's story
and how I had traveled to the Philippinesto retrace her steps.
And in the process metundercover investigators,
police officers, lawyers,and social workers.
Again, he seemed really interested.
The conversation was going really well.
Until, that is, I told him what OSEC was.
(13:03):
He put his hands up inthe air, shook his head,
literally turned away and said,'Oh, that's too heavy for me, mate.
I don't want to thinkabout anything like that.'
So we moved on,but I've thought about
that moment a lot since.
(13:25):
Perhaps as you listen,you've already heard of
this four letter acronym,perhaps you have read of it
or caught word of its horror.
But perhaps this term isrelatively new for you.
Like it was for some of uswhen we started exploring it.
You might have the sameinitial reaction as that dad,
by the jumping pillow,it might feel like something
(13:45):
simply too dark for youto put your mind to.
And you'd rather not.
I think that's a really natural reactionand it's totally understandable.
But what does that reaction multipliedby millions of people mean?
In some ways we're not just turning awayfrom the topic of OSEC,
(14:08):
we're actually turning awayfrom those caught up in it.
We're leaving them to solvethis problem, but they're kids.
On the flip side, when we turn into it,when we start paying
attention, change can happen.
How do I know this?
Because that's exactlywhat happened back in 1833,
(14:29):
when slavery was officiallyabolished in the UK.
It didn't start with an act of parliament.
It started with the people becoming awareof what was actually happening.
Here's Jim Martin, a 15 year veteranwith International Justice Mission.
- [Jim] One of the key thingsthat helped that happen,
one of the sort of keystonesof that whole process was this lithograph
(14:53):
that was created of the mapof a slave ship, of the
hold of a slave ship,that laid out what it actually looked like
for these human beings to be packedin like cargo and for
six weeks or two months,carried across the middle passage
at the cost of 40% of their lives often.
(15:15):
So people were confrontedwith this actual image
that they probably couldn'tget out of their heads.
And some of them probablyregretted seeing actually right,
because they couldn't getit out of their heads.
But this is actually oneof the important steps
to awareness raising.
Cause like an idea is one thing,but an idea that brings with it,
(15:38):
some emotional cargoof empathy is actually
where change begins to happen,where reality becomes unacceptable.
- [Rich] The thing is,one of the reasons OSEC
has grown so much isbecause of its mostly hidden nature.
Rather than traditional traffickingOSEC takes place in private
spaces, homes, computers,and yes in easily pocketable
(16:02):
devices like phones.
The crime of OSEC isflourishing in the darkness.
And perhaps you, by listening now,can play even a small part
in bringing light into it.
What's the odd saying, sunlightis the best disinfectant.
(16:26):
I have spent countlesshours talking with Ruby
and her social worker.
For Ruby, now in her mid twenties,there is power and healing in speaking up
and telling her story,bringing it into the light.
- [Ruby] Before I'm so shyand afraid to face people.
(16:47):
But then when I realizedthat this is not something
that I should hide from peopleso that other victims or more
victims could be prevented.
- [Rich] When I started onthe journey of this podcast,
I honestly had no ideait would go where it has.
It turns out that this storyis packed full of twists and turns,
(17:09):
moments of incredible bravery in triumph,of grit and determination
in the pursuit of justice.
We've shaped this storyinto a six part series
that I hope you're going to love.
And just a little note here,the story is also packed full
of highly sensitive information,criminals and victims,
(17:30):
investigators and informants.
Because of this, we'vehad to change the names
of a lot of the peoplefeatured in this story,
including Ruby's.
But Ruby is a name she gave herselfafter coming through this
ordeal, after surviving OSAC.
(17:58):
In the most basic sense,OSAC is a very modern
form of human trafficking.
It involves the live streameddirected abuse of children.
Men from countries likethe UK, USA, Canada, Europe
and I'm ashamed to sayAustralia, pay to see children,
(18:19):
boys and girls, sexuallyabused in real time,
all from the comfort of their home.
- [John] Yeah I mean just the reality isthat you have millions of individuals,
primarily men in our worldwho want to see children
being sexually abused.
(18:40):
They want to direct it inreal time using technology.
- [Rich] That's John Tenago,executive director of the center
and online sexual exploitation of childrenestablished in 2020.
- [John] And becausethe demand set offenders
are paying for it.
And on the other side inplaces like the Philippines,
(19:01):
you have individuals who arewilling to exploit children
for profit to make money.
Then that's why you haveonline sexual exploitation
of children.
- [Rich] As I said, it'sa really modern form
of human trafficking.
Now, if you're like me,when you think of fighting
back against human trafficking,you might think of this.
(19:25):
- [Liam] I dunno who you are.
I dunno what you want.
If you are looking for a ransom,I can tell you I don't have money.
But what I do have are a veryparticular set of skills.
Skills I have acquiredover a very long career,
skills that make me anightmare for people like you.
(19:47):
If you let my daughter gonow, that'll be the end of it.
I will not look for you.
I will not pursue you, but if you don't,I will look for you.
I will find you and I will kill you.
- [Rich] It's quite something to watchLiam Nason systematically and quickly
(20:10):
take down a human trafficking syndicatein the movie Taken if only
were that straightforward.
OSEC is stealthy.
It takes time, energy, and expertiseto seek it out and expose it.
- [John] You've seen improvements,significant improvements,
in combating that crime,but still it's a lot easier
(20:31):
to get away with because it's online.
Offenders can use anonymousidentifying information
on social media platforms.
They can use encrypted platforms.
And so not withstanding thebest efforts of the government.
It's just a hard crime todetect and report quickly.
(20:56):
- [Rich] Unlike traditional traffickingcustomers no longer need to
physically walk into a brothel.
Just a swipe of the screen,brings it to the couch or the bedroom.
It is almost, one could imagine,like it isn't even
happening in the real world,except it really is.
(21:17):
- [Ruby] I am angry.
An image, it's not just an image.
There's a child, a realchild in that image.
And....
- [Rich] In Manila, Iwas given the opportunity
to sit down and chat withpolice Colonel Sheila Potinto,
(21:39):
former chief of the women andchildren protection centers
Anti-trafficking and Persons division.
Colonel Sheila is tough.
She has hunted down and put behind bars,hundreds of perpetrators of this crime.
And despite doing this day in and day out,the reality of this quote
unquote virtual crimestill deeply impacts her.
(22:03):
- [Shelia] Actually, Iusually don't watch the images
or the videos because Icannot actually comprehend
how a sane human being canactually satisfy himself
with a child or a life being destroyed.
(22:26):
It is just so inhuman.
- [Rich] It's important to statethat this is not happening
only on the dark web.
Most of it is happeningon the social platforms
that we use every day.
Another disturbing differenceto traditional trafficking
that we need to mention upfrontis that OSEC is what they
call a preferential crime.
(22:51):
What that means is that ratherthan arriving at a location,
like say a brothel or a barand taking what they are offered,
customers are given choicein who they want to abuse
and what they want to do.
They essentially becomedirectors of their own perversion
in the form of shows.
- [Caleb] In more traditionalchild sex trafficking
(23:13):
the victims tend to be a little bit older.
In OSEC, I mean, nearlyhalf of the victims
are under the age of 12.
- [Rich] That's Caleb Carroll,director of National Investigations
and Law Enforcement developmentfor IJM Philippines.
- [Caleb] In OSAC extremely preferential.
They will order and lookfor the kind of child,
(23:36):
the kind of abuse and customorder it to their preference
in liking as a sexuallymotivated offender.
- [Rich] That Facebookmessage, would you like a job?
The message that would go onto completely upend Ruby's life came
in 2013 when the crime ofOSEC was in its infancy.
(23:59):
Primarily for that reason,Ruby's story is not a typical
example of this crime.
It's a blend of both traditionaltrafficking and OSEC.
More on this in a future episode.
Let's return now to Ruby's story.
Before that message arrived in the momentwhere everything started to change.
(24:21):
- [Announcer] October 2008Messiahs, the Philippines.
- [Rich] The unraveling of Ruby's lifebegins with a shout.
It is Ruby's brother.
Something has gone wrong with her father,(motorcycle running)
but first Ruby is confused.
It's only when she sees it for herself,that she understands the
(24:41):
reason for the terrorin her older brother's voice.
- [Ruby] I saw my fatherriding a motorcycle,
but he looked like hewas lifeless already.
He's not moving, his eyes were closed.
And then the motorcycle actually stoppedin front of our house.
(25:05):
And then I saw my father in that state.
And then my brother yelled at my motherthat my father had a stroke.
- [Rich] Ruby's mother panics.
Her eyes are wide with frightand her movements are agitated.
Ruby has never seen her like this before.
(25:27):
Ruby's brother says theymust go to the hospital now.
Ruby begs to go with them.
She wants to be thereby her father's side,
but her mother tells her she cannot,they don't have the money to pay
for transport for them all to go.
Stay in the house she tells Ruby, wait.
It is only 10 (25:46):
00 AM and Ruby doesn't know what to do.
Early in the afternoonshe lies down at last
and succumbs to sleep.
- [Ruby] Just like aroundone, two in the afternoon
when one of my sisterswere like gently shaking me
and I heard them crying.
- [Rich] Ruby takes a momentto come to reorient herself.
(26:09):
She cannot take in whather sister is saying.
She seems to be telling herthat her father has gone,
but the words do not register.
They do not make sense.
Ruby asks again what happened.
(horn beeping)At last, her siblings
bring Ruby to the hospital,but she cries only because they're crying,
not because she's found her in tears yet.
(26:33):
In the hospital, she spots her father.
He is covered from headto toe in a white sheet.
She runs toward him andinstantly embraces him.
- [Ruby] He was still warmwhen I was embracing him.
So I thought he was still alive.
It's just that he's sick.
(26:53):
But when the funeral people arriveto get his dead body,
that's when I realizedthat he's dead already.
And that's when I started crying.
- [Rich] And that's whenthe river of sorrow begins.
(27:18):
Other than Ruby, her father's sudden deathis hardest of all on her mother.
She does not forget abouther husband, not in her mind,
not in her body, either.
She longs for him.
Four months after her father leaves them,grief finds physical expression
in her mother's body.
(27:39):
She becomes very sick.
She's diagnosed withdiabetes and hypertension.
And soon after that, she'sdiagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
The doctor gives herless than a year to live.
(28:01):
At just 13 years old Rubybecomes her mother's nurse
while her siblings workto provide for them
and the continual weightof new medical expenses.
Ruby cares for her mother in hospital,as she undergoes treatment and surgery.
(machines beeping)As long as she is at the hospital,
(28:23):
Ruby cannot attend school.
In her absence her gradesonce so good begin to slip.
It is a little falling downthe side of a mountain.
When her mother dies Ruby doesnot know where to go next.
(28:47):
She has many siblings to stay with,but by now they have their own families,
their own lives, their own burdens.
She does not want to intrudeto be yet another weight
on their shoulders.
She feels too lost to fit in.
So she returns to the onlyplace she's ever felt safe
(29:08):
to the house in the country,a one and a half hour walk from the town.
But this time she returns alone.
- [Ruby] Actually itwas very lonely, rich.
And at that point of time,future was blunt for me.
It's like a blank spacebecause I don't know where
(29:30):
to have this strength.
I mean, I lost all of my inspiration.
I was always wanting tohave a successful future
cause of my parents,but I lost them.
So future was like a blank space for me.
(29:51):
I don't know what to do anymore.
I don't have this desire even.
It's just like I just existed,but I don't know what for.
I don't know what's my purpose.
(30:17):
- [Rich] One of Ruby'selders sisters visits weekly
to check in on her.
Initially Ruby isgrateful for the support,
but one day the atmosphere shifts.
When she enters the houseRuby's sister does not look pleased.
Something has happened.
No, rather something has been said.
There are rumors being passed around,rumors about Ruby, about her behavior.
(30:40):
Ruby tells her sister thatthe rumors have no substance.
They are just smoke.
But her sisters don't believe her.
Without warning her sistergrabs an electric cable
and she swings it like a whipand it makes contact with Ruby's flash.
- [Ruby] Aside from physicallyhurt I was also hurt
(31:01):
by that fact that theytrust other people than me.
So that's how I started to havethis hatred towards them.
- [Rich] This type of violent disciplinewould become a new pattern in Ruby's life.
Her sisters have taken onthe role of raising her
(31:22):
and they feel that thisis the best way to do it.
- [Ruby] For me, it's veryharsh of them and very nonsense.
When she beats me up,I actually don't cry.
Even if I am physically hurt.
(31:45):
It's really hard for mytears to come out of my eyes,
but deep inside, my anger would pile up.
And when I'm alone, that'swhen I really cried a lot.
- [Rich] For two years,Ruby lives like this alone.
(32:06):
Piece by piece, the layersof protection around her
had been pulled away.
Sickness and death, poverty and calamityhad left her standing
exposed and vulnerable.
It was into this spacethat the message arrived
on Facebook messenger.
(phone chiming)(typing)- [Ruby] When that person started
(32:34):
talking to me in Facebook.
It's like an answered prayerfor me, if I would say.
I was praying for a chance or a wayto live the province or our house.
So I entertained her and Isaw her as my escape route.
(33:05):
And I didn't have anyoneto talk with about it.
So I kept it by myselfbecause I was actually afraid
that they would tellmy plans to my siblings
and I will be beaten again.
(33:26):
- [Rich] The woman on the other endtells her exactly what to do
and where to go to reach her destination.
And so Ruby steps boldlyforward into her future.
Believing it can't possiblybe any worse than her past.
Shortly after graduation Ruby leavesthe shelter of the mountains behind her
(33:48):
and begins the two and ahalf day journey to Pampanga.
She's just 16 years old withno one to accompany her.
So she has a lot of time to think.
While the bus rumblesover the uneven streets,
she wonders what it willbe like at her new job,
what she will do, where she will sleep.
(34:13):
But she thinks too of her family at home.
- [Ruby] I was also veryworried that my siblings will be
or how my siblings will react with thatafter they'll find out.
I was crying the whole timeand I was just comforting
(34:36):
myself with the factthat I won't be with my siblings anymore.
And they won't be ableto hurt me any longer.
- [Rich] The bus and thenthe ship push her onward.
(35:04):
When Ruby finally arrivesat the depo at Pampanga
after her long trip, she's beyond tired.
Rather than the lady,there is an unfamiliar
man there to meet her.
- [Ruby] He was quiet soit was very awkward for me
to talk to him firstbecause he was very quiet
and I didn't know him.
(35:25):
He just told me that in the terminal,he just asked me, are you B?
And then I said, yes.
Oh, so this person sent me to pick you up.
And actually the girl thatI was talking on messenger
already told me that there will be personwho will pick me up from the terminal.
So I went with that guy.
(35:47):
- [Rich] The two drive inawkward silence for 45 minutes
through a criss crossof unfamiliar streets.
Ruby does not recognize anythingnor does she think it's possible
to remember the way they have taken.
It's a maze.
Rather than the mountainshe's familiar with
this city is an entirely different place.
Noisy, busy, even the sky looks different,closer, less clear.
(36:14):
She is painfully aware thatshe knows not a soul here.
The silent stranger is her oneand only link to well, anything.
When they arrive, the womanis still nowhere to be seen.
The house is plain andlarge from the outside.
(36:38):
There is no greenery around it.
No glimpses of life.
You will meet your bosstomorrow the man tells her.
So it is best if you get some sleep now.
He says it more like a command,stern and final, than a suggestion.
They step out of the carand move toward the front door together.
(36:58):
There's a padlock on thedoor that he pauses to open.
Ruby enters after the manand steps into a hallway.
She watches as several young womenand a young girl of around
eight or nine years oldemerge from a side room partially naked.
Where are their clothes, she thinks.
(37:20):
Why are they half undressed?
The house is dark and hasa strange musty smell.
And she does not knowyet where she will sleep
or what she will eat.
But suddenly none of this matters.
In an instant Ruby is no longer lost.
(37:42):
She knows exactly where she is.
- [Ruby] Oh my goodness.
For me, it was like, what?
You know, it was like abomb exploding in my head.
I was tricked.
(38:06):
- [Rich] On the nextepisode of finding Ruby.
- [Ruby] She actually looked likeshe would give me any time.
She doesn't care at all.
If I get killed there,no one would really know.
♪ Far in the distance. ♪♪ There's a promise. ♪
- [Rich] Finding Rubyis a project of Cadence,
a creative agency forgood in Sydney, Australia.
(38:27):
♪ We're all waiting in the in between. ♪♪ We're all seeking an omen. ♪
This podcast is written and editedby Nikki Florence Thompson
and me, Rich Thompson.
Sound design and mix byme and Brendan Ridley.
The show website whereyou can dive in deeper
into each episode can befound findingruby.com.
(38:51):
Our theme song is Homelandby Searching For Light,
a special thanks to LydiaBowden, Evelyn Pingle,
Meryl Sarco, Lanny Alano,and all the team at IJN in the Philippines
for opening the doors to us.
And of course a big thanks toRuby for telling her story.
And finally, a big thanks to youfor choosing to come on
this journey with us.
(39:13):
We'd be really gratefulif you would take a moment
to rate and review the podcastso that other people can find it two.
We'll see you on the next episode.
(bright music)- [Announcer] Cadence productions.
- [Rich] Before we begin a warning,this podcast contains
descriptions of sexual violence.
Listener discretion is advised.
(fast drum roll)- [Announcer] March, 2013,
The Siaghs the Philippines.
(spooky music)- [Rich] A message lights up the screen.
(00:23):
It's like a beacon.
(phone chiming) Hello.
And then seconds later,(phone chiming)
would you like a job?
The words are almost luminous.
They seem to expand into that small spaceand fill it with new energy.
Ruby sits alone in the quiet darkof her two room home
nestled in the mountains.
(00:46):
Her only company the breeze rustlingthrough the bamboo walls.
She's been alone for two years now,since around the time she turned 14.
So for Ruby, this message feelslike a spark of
recognition, of connection.
(01:06):
Would you like a job?
It isn't just a question.
Not in Ruby's mind.
Not after everything that has taken place.
No, it's a signpost.
It feels, she thinks then,like nothing short of a Godsend.
(01:26):
(phone chimes)In the following weeks Ruby
chats more with the strangeron the other end of the screen.
The woman is polite,helpful, friendly even.
The job is for a computershop she tells Ruby.
This is good Ruby thinksbecause she excelled
in her computer class at school.
This is something she knows she can do.
(01:49):
(phone chirping)The woman promises her room and board
in exchange for her laborand Ruby, gaining courage,
makes her own requests.
If possible, she asks,may she work at night
so she can have timefree to study in the day.
(phone chirps)The woman agrees and to
prove she means what she saysshe transfers some money to
(02:10):
Ruby, to pay for the fareto take her halfway across the Philippines
to the city of Pampanga whereshe will begin her new life.
Though the plans continue togrow over the next few months,
(02:31):
Ruby doesn't tell anyone elseabout her ongoing conversation.
Not her friends, definitelynot her siblings.
She keeps her excitementand her nerves tightly buckled inside her.
She doesn't want anyone totry to talk her out of it,
or worse, to reprimand her for it.
The fresh scar on her arm reminds herthat this is a real possibility.
(02:58):
Ruby comes to think ofthis woman as a friend,
as someone who sees hervalue and potential.
When so much has been lost,when so much has been
damaged in Ruby's lifeover the last few years,
this woman seems to offer a way out.
This Ruby believes is her open door.
Her second chance.
(03:19):
The opportunity to leavethe mountains of grief,
loneliness, and pain behind her.
But of course, the woman on the other sideof the chat box is not
who she says she is.
She's called Nadine.
Nadine and her husband,Pedro, were pioneers.
(03:42):
One might even call them entrepreneursof a crime that would later
be named OSAC, o s a c,the online sexual
exploitation of children.
One of the fastest growing majorcrimes on our planet today,
a crime, they were slowlybut surely pulling Ruby into.
(04:05):
With every keystroke. Ruby was unwittinglybecoming their next victim.
- [Ruby] That was actually, I could say,the darkest moment of my life actually.
They were padlocked inside the house.
(04:26):
I couldn't imagine how a girl could livein a place like that.
♪ Far in the distance. ♪♪ There's a promise. ♪
- [Man] That is a typicalstory that they can think
of a time in their lifewhen they could never
have imagined getting sexually involvedin images of children.
♪ I put it on the alterthough it was mine. ♪
(04:49):
They detected that yeah,a crime is being committed in this place.
There are victims that need to be rescuedand perpetrators that need
to be brought to justice.
♪ We're all waiting in the in between. ♪- [Rich] From Cadence
productions, this is finding Ruby,a true story of loss and trauma
(05:10):
at the hands of one of theworld's fastest growing crimes,
but also a story of triumph,of rescue and resilience.
- [Woman 1] She was shaking,but there's so much conviction.
There's so much strength and courage.
- [Woman 2] I was thinkingthat their lives were ruined
that they were destroyed.
But now I know I was wrong,cause (laughter) they've been redeemed.
(05:35):
- [Woman 1] I know that there are kidswho are actually waiting
for us to rescue them.
It empowers me more.
- [Rich] This is thestory of 16 year old Ruby
thrown into the fight of her lifeand of those who have chosen
to come alongside her and make itthe fight of their lives too.
(05:56):
Episode one, the trick.
- [Ruby] I grew up being a farmer.
I mean, my parents were both farmers.
Farming was the only sourceof living that we had.
- [Rich] Ruby's storybegins slowly, uneventfully.
(06:16):
For the first 12 years of her life,the mountains shelter her,
despite the poverty around her,she feels safe.
She's the youngest in along train of siblings.
Ten children rise in anascending line above her
and the gap between herand the eldest is vast.
(06:38):
The family has two homeswhen Ruby is growing up.
One in the town whereher older siblings live
and study and work tohelp contribute to costs
and one in the country aboutan hour and a half's walk away.
This is where Ruby livesshoulder to shoulder
with her parents.
(06:59):
The two room countryhouse is small and simple,
built with her father's hands.
The walls are bamboo andthe roof is thatched,
but it is cool with the breeze and warmwith the presence of her parents.
It is home.
She loves the rich green all around herand the sound the birds make all day long,
(07:22):
always with something to say.
It is a half hour walk tothe small mountain school.
Ruby discovers herethat she loves learning.
Not only this, but she's good at it.
- [Ruby] My teachers sent me actuallyto some spelling bee contest.
So I got to be with otherkids from other school.
(07:46):
Slowly or little by littleI learned to socialize with other people.
That's when I started toactually to be more playful
and more outgoing.
- [Rich] The pattern of Ruby's lifeis a steady peaceful one.
(08:06):
In the mornings her parents wake earlyand make coffee together before
they head out to the farm.
Work is hard for them.
Ruby knows this.
- [Ruby] There are days that theywould bring me to the farm,
but they wouldn't actually allow meto do the farming job because
I was too young for that.
But I was actually exposedthe things that they do,
(08:28):
how hard it is to put food on our table.
- [Rich] Ruby is close to her father.
He's gentle with her andthey share a close bond.
- [Ruby] My father loved me so muchthat I didn't even have a memory
of him even raising his voice.
(08:51):
I don't have a memory ofhim being mad toward me.
- [Rich] Farm life by its very nature,affords unexpected moments of lightness.
One day as they are walking home,they come across a very steep hill
that they need to walk down.
(09:12):
Ruby asks her father for a piggyback ride.
Eager to help his daughterhe kneels down so she can
better reach his back,but he forgets one thing.
He is still wearing his boloknife, a large farming tool.
It looks like a machete.
He's wearing it around his waist.
As he bends down the knife pushesinto the ground.
(09:35):
Before he realizes that, he's overbalancedand he starts to tumble.
- [Ruby] My father rolled down the hilland instead of helping him,
I laughed so very loud and ran after him.
And I didn't even realizethat it was it dangerous for my father.
I just, at that moment,I just saw the funny side of my father.
(09:57):
I just ran after him.
And that made our way homeeven faster.
(laughter)- [Rich] During this time
in her life, Ruby dreams,often of what she will
be when she is older.
- [Ruby] Since I was a dreamer,I really had a lot of who I want to be
(10:22):
when I was a younger or while growing up.
So there was a time thatI wanted to be a nurse
because I wanted to take care sick people.
There were times that I alsowanted to be a Polish woman.
There were also timesthat I want to be a teacher.
So I had a lot of thingsthat I really wanted to
(10:44):
do when I was growing up.
- [Rich] Lying beside hermother and father together
in the one room in thewarmth of the small home.
Ruby's big dreams seem not only possible,but as far as she can
see, entirely achievable.
But of course Ruby couldnot have seen or imagined
(11:07):
what was coming next.
(crowd talking)I was recently camping with my family
at one of those campgroundswhere there's a ton of
(11:28):
activities for children,one of those activities
was a jumping pillow.
This might be an Australian thing.
It's basically a giant jumping castle.
The size of say half a basketball court,but with no walls, it's
surrounded by sand.
It's a little dangerous, buta lot of fun for the kids.
(11:50):
Anyway, I was standing there watching onwishing I was a kid
when I got talking to another dad.
We ended up having a great conversation,chatting for a long time,
about all manner of things.
Then I started talking abouthow I was working on this podcast.
I told him how it was a passion projectof the creative agency
(12:11):
that I help run, Cadence,and how one of our clients,
International Justice Mission,or IJM as their known, had
given me a backstage passof sorts, to tell the story.
He asked me about IJM and Igot to chat about their work.
How they're a globalorganization dedicated
to protecting the world's most vulnerablefrom violence and exploitation.
(12:36):
I told him some of thedetails of Ruby's story
and how I had traveled to the Philippinesto retrace her steps.
And in the process metundercover investigators,
police officers, lawyers,and social workers.
Again, he seemed really interested.
The conversation was going really well.
Until, that is, I told him what OSEC was.
(13:03):
He put his hands up inthe air, shook his head,
literally turned away and said,'Oh, that's too heavy for me, mate.
I don't want to thinkabout anything like that.'
So we moved on,but I've thought about
that moment a lot since.
(13:25):
Perhaps as you listen,you've already heard of
this four letter acronym,perhaps you have read of it
or caught word of its horror.
But perhaps this term isrelatively new for you.
Like it was for some of uswhen we started exploring it.
You might have the sameinitial reaction as that dad,
by the jumping pillow,it might feel like something
(13:45):
simply too dark for youto put your mind to.
And you'd rather not.
I think that's a really natural reactionand it's totally understandable.
But what does that reaction multipliedby millions of people mean?
In some ways we're not just turning awayfrom the topic of OSEC,
(14:08):
we're actually turning awayfrom those caught up in it.
We're leaving them to solvethis problem, but they're kids.
On the flip side, when we turn into it,when we start paying
attention, change can happen.
How do I know this?
Because that's exactlywhat happened back in 1833,
(14:29):
when slavery was officiallyabolished in the UK.
It didn't start with an act of parliament.
It started with the people becoming awareof what was actually happening.
Here's Jim Martin, a 15 year veteranwith International Justice Mission.
- [Jim] One of the key thingsthat helped that happen,
one of the sort of keystonesof that whole process was this lithograph
(14:53):
that was created of the mapof a slave ship, of the
hold of a slave ship,that laid out what it actually looked like
for these human beings to be packedin like cargo and for
six weeks or two months,carried across the middle passage
at the cost of 40% of their lives often.
(15:15):
So people were confrontedwith this actual image
that they probably couldn'tget out of their heads.
And some of them probablyregretted seeing actually right,
because they couldn't getit out of their heads.
But this is actually oneof the important steps
to awareness raising.
Cause like an idea is one thing,but an idea that brings with it,
(15:38):
some emotional cargoof empathy is actually
where change begins to happen,where reality becomes unacceptable.
- [Rich] The thing is,one of the reasons OSEC
has grown so much isbecause of its mostly hidden nature.
Rather than traditional traffickingOSEC takes place in private
spaces, homes, computers,and yes in easily pocketable
(16:02):
devices like phones.
The crime of OSEC isflourishing in the darkness.
And perhaps you, by listening now,can play even a small part
in bringing light into it.
What's the odd saying, sunlightis the best disinfectant.
(16:26):
I have spent countlesshours talking with Ruby
and her social worker.
For Ruby, now in her mid twenties,there is power and healing in speaking up
and telling her story,bringing it into the light.
- [Ruby] Before I'm so shyand afraid to face people.
(16:47):
But then when I realizedthat this is not something
that I should hide from peopleso that other victims or more
victims could be prevented.
- [Rich] When I started onthe journey of this podcast,
I honestly had no ideait would go where it has.
It turns out that this storyis packed full of twists and turns,
(17:09):
moments of incredible bravery in triumph,of grit and determination
in the pursuit of justice.
We've shaped this storyinto a six part series
that I hope you're going to love.
And just a little note here,the story is also packed full
of highly sensitive information,criminals and victims,
(17:30):
investigators and informants.
Because of this, we'vehad to change the names
of a lot of the peoplefeatured in this story,
including Ruby's.
But Ruby is a name she gave herselfafter coming through this
ordeal, after surviving OSAC.
(17:58):
In the most basic sense,OSAC is a very modern
form of human trafficking.
It involves the live streameddirected abuse of children.
Men from countries likethe UK, USA, Canada, Europe
and I'm ashamed to sayAustralia, pay to see children,
(18:19):
boys and girls, sexuallyabused in real time,
all from the comfort of their home.
- [John] Yeah I mean just the reality isthat you have millions of individuals,
primarily men in our worldwho want to see children
being sexually abused.
(18:40):
They want to direct it inreal time using technology.
- [Rich] That's John Tenago,executive director of the center
and online sexual exploitation of childrenestablished in 2020.
- [John] And becausethe demand set offenders
are paying for it.
And on the other side inplaces like the Philippines,
(19:01):
you have individuals who arewilling to exploit children
for profit to make money.
Then that's why you haveonline sexual exploitation
of children.
- [Rich] As I said, it'sa really modern form
of human trafficking.
Now, if you're like me,when you think of fighting
back against human trafficking,you might think of this.
(19:25):
- [Liam] I dunno who you are.
I dunno what you want.
If you are looking for a ransom,I can tell you I don't have money.
But what I do have are a veryparticular set of skills.
Skills I have acquiredover a very long career,
skills that make me anightmare for people like you.
(19:47):
If you let my daughter gonow, that'll be the end of it.
I will not look for you.
I will not pursue you, but if you don't,I will look for you.
I will find you and I will kill you.
- [Rich] It's quite something to watchLiam Nason systematically and quickly
(20:10):
take down a human trafficking syndicatein the movie Taken if only
were that straightforward.
OSEC is stealthy.
It takes time, energy, and expertiseto seek it out and expose it.
- [John] You've seen improvements,significant improvements,
in combating that crime,but still it's a lot easier
(20:31):
to get away with because it's online.
Offenders can use anonymousidentifying information
on social media platforms.
They can use encrypted platforms.
And so not withstanding thebest efforts of the government.
It's just a hard crime todetect and report quickly.
(20:56):
- [Rich] Unlike traditional traffickingcustomers no longer need to
physically walk into a brothel.
Just a swipe of the screen,brings it to the couch or the bedroom.
It is almost, one could imagine,like it isn't even
happening in the real world,except it really is.
(21:17):
- [Ruby] I am angry.
An image, it's not just an image.
There's a child, a realchild in that image.
And....
- [Rich] In Manila, Iwas given the opportunity
to sit down and chat withpolice Colonel Sheila Potinto,
(21:39):
former chief of the women andchildren protection centers
Anti-trafficking and Persons division.
Colonel Sheila is tough.
She has hunted down and put behind bars,hundreds of perpetrators of this crime.
And despite doing this day in and day out,the reality of this quote
unquote virtual crimestill deeply impacts her.
(22:03):
- [Shelia] Actually, Iusually don't watch the images
or the videos because Icannot actually comprehend
how a sane human being canactually satisfy himself
with a child or a life being destroyed.
(22:26):
It is just so inhuman.
- [Rich] It's important to statethat this is not happening
only on the dark web.
Most of it is happeningon the social platforms
that we use every day.
Another disturbing differenceto traditional trafficking
that we need to mention upfrontis that OSEC is what they
call a preferential crime.
(22:51):
What that means is that ratherthan arriving at a location,
like say a brothel or a barand taking what they are offered,
customers are given choicein who they want to abuse
and what they want to do.
They essentially becomedirectors of their own perversion
in the form of shows.
- [Caleb] In more traditionalchild sex trafficking
(23:13):
the victims tend to be a little bit older.
In OSEC, I mean, nearlyhalf of the victims
are under the age of 12.
- [Rich] That's Caleb Carroll,director of National Investigations
and Law Enforcement developmentfor IJM Philippines.
- [Caleb] In OSAC extremely preferential.
They will order and lookfor the kind of child,
(23:36):
the kind of abuse and customorder it to their preference
in liking as a sexuallymotivated offender.
- [Rich] That Facebookmessage, would you like a job?
The message that would go onto completely upend Ruby's life came
in 2013 when the crime ofOSEC was in its infancy.
(23:59):
Primarily for that reason,Ruby's story is not a typical
example of this crime.
It's a blend of both traditionaltrafficking and OSEC.
More on this in a future episode.
Let's return now to Ruby's story.
Before that message arrived in the momentwhere everything started to change.
(24:21):
- [Announcer] October 2008Messiahs, the Philippines.
- [Rich] The unraveling of Ruby's lifebegins with a shout.
It is Ruby's brother.
Something has gone wrong with her father,(motorcycle running)
but first Ruby is confused.
It's only when she sees it for herself,that she understands the
(24:41):
reason for the terrorin her older brother's voice.
- [Ruby] I saw my fatherriding a motorcycle,
but he looked like hewas lifeless already.
He's not moving, his eyes were closed.
And then the motorcycle actually stoppedin front of our house.
(25:05):
And then I saw my father in that state.
And then my brother yelled at my motherthat my father had a stroke.
- [Rich] Ruby's mother panics.
Her eyes are wide with frightand her movements are agitated.
Ruby has never seen her like this before.
(25:27):
Ruby's brother says theymust go to the hospital now.
Ruby begs to go with them.
She wants to be thereby her father's side,
but her mother tells her she cannot,they don't have the money to pay
for transport for them all to go.
Stay in the house she tells Ruby, wait.
It is only 10 (25:46):
00 AM and Ruby doesn't know what to do.
Early in the afternoonshe lies down at last
and succumbs to sleep.
- [Ruby] Just like aroundone, two in the afternoon
when one of my sisterswere like gently shaking me
and I heard them crying.
- [Rich] Ruby takes a momentto come to reorient herself.
(26:09):
She cannot take in whather sister is saying.
She seems to be telling herthat her father has gone,
but the words do not register.
They do not make sense.
Ruby asks again what happened.
(horn beeping)At last, her siblings
bring Ruby to the hospital,but she cries only because they're crying,
not because she's found her in tears yet.
(26:33):
In the hospital, she spots her father.
He is covered from headto toe in a white sheet.
She runs toward him andinstantly embraces him.
- [Ruby] He was still warmwhen I was embracing him.
So I thought he was still alive.
It's just that he's sick.
(26:53):
But when the funeral people arriveto get his dead body,
that's when I realizedthat he's dead already.
And that's when I started crying.
- [Rich] And that's whenthe river of sorrow begins.
(27:18):
Other than Ruby, her father's sudden deathis hardest of all on her mother.
She does not forget abouther husband, not in her mind,
not in her body, either.
She longs for him.
Four months after her father leaves them,grief finds physical expression
in her mother's body.
(27:39):
She becomes very sick.
She's diagnosed withdiabetes and hypertension.
And soon after that, she'sdiagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
The doctor gives herless than a year to live.
(28:01):
At just 13 years old Rubybecomes her mother's nurse
while her siblings workto provide for them
and the continual weightof new medical expenses.
Ruby cares for her mother in hospital,as she undergoes treatment and surgery.
(machines beeping)As long as she is at the hospital,
(28:23):
Ruby cannot attend school.
In her absence her gradesonce so good begin to slip.
It is a little falling downthe side of a mountain.
When her mother dies Ruby doesnot know where to go next.
(28:47):
She has many siblings to stay with,but by now they have their own families,
their own lives, their own burdens.
She does not want to intrudeto be yet another weight
on their shoulders.
She feels too lost to fit in.
So she returns to the onlyplace she's ever felt safe
(29:08):
to the house in the country,a one and a half hour walk from the town.
But this time she returns alone.
- [Ruby] Actually itwas very lonely, rich.
And at that point of time,future was blunt for me.
It's like a blank spacebecause I don't know where
(29:30):
to have this strength.
I mean, I lost all of my inspiration.
I was always wanting tohave a successful future
cause of my parents,but I lost them.
So future was like a blank space for me.
(29:51):
I don't know what to do anymore.
I don't have this desire even.
It's just like I just existed,but I don't know what for.
I don't know what's my purpose.
(30:17):
- [Rich] One of Ruby'selders sisters visits weekly
to check in on her.
Initially Ruby isgrateful for the support,
but one day the atmosphere shifts.
When she enters the houseRuby's sister does not look pleased.
Something has happened.
No, rather something has been said.
There are rumors being passed around,rumors about Ruby, about her behavior.
(30:40):
Ruby tells her sister thatthe rumors have no substance.
They are just smoke.
But her sisters don't believe her.
Without warning her sistergrabs an electric cable
and she swings it like a whipand it makes contact with Ruby's flash.
- [Ruby] Aside from physicallyhurt I was also hurt
(31:01):
by that fact that theytrust other people than me.
So that's how I started to havethis hatred towards them.
- [Rich] This type of violent disciplinewould become a new pattern in Ruby's life.
Her sisters have taken onthe role of raising her
(31:22):
and they feel that thisis the best way to do it.
- [Ruby] For me, it's veryharsh of them and very nonsense.
When she beats me up,I actually don't cry.
Even if I am physically hurt.
(31:45):
It's really hard for mytears to come out of my eyes,
but deep inside, my anger would pile up.
And when I'm alone, that'swhen I really cried a lot.
- [Rich] For two years,Ruby lives like this alone.
(32:06):
Piece by piece, the layersof protection around her
had been pulled away.
Sickness and death, poverty and calamityhad left her standing
exposed and vulnerable.
It was into this spacethat the message arrived
on Facebook messenger.
(phone chiming)(typing)- [Ruby] When that person started
(32:34):
talking to me in Facebook.
It's like an answered prayerfor me, if I would say.
I was praying for a chance or a wayto live the province or our house.
So I entertained her and Isaw her as my escape route.
(33:05):
And I didn't have anyoneto talk with about it.
So I kept it by myselfbecause I was actually afraid
that they would tellmy plans to my siblings
and I will be beaten again.
(33:26):
- [Rich] The woman on the other endtells her exactly what to do
and where to go to reach her destination.
And so Ruby steps boldlyforward into her future.
Believing it can't possiblybe any worse than her past.
Shortly after graduation Ruby leavesthe shelter of the mountains behind her
(33:48):
and begins the two and ahalf day journey to Pampanga.
She's just 16 years old withno one to accompany her.
So she has a lot of time to think.
While the bus rumblesover the uneven streets,
she wonders what it willbe like at her new job,
what she will do, where she will sleep.
(34:13):
But she thinks too of her family at home.
- [Ruby] I was also veryworried that my siblings will be
or how my siblings will react with thatafter they'll find out.
I was crying the whole timeand I was just comforting
(34:36):
myself with the factthat I won't be with my siblings anymore.
And they won't be ableto hurt me any longer.
- [Rich] The bus and thenthe ship push her onward.
(35:04):
When Ruby finally arrivesat the depo at Pampanga
after her long trip, she's beyond tired.
Rather than the lady,there is an unfamiliar
man there to meet her.
- [Ruby] He was quiet soit was very awkward for me
to talk to him firstbecause he was very quiet
and I didn't know him.
(35:25):
He just told me that in the terminal,he just asked me, are you B?
And then I said, yes.
Oh, so this person sent me to pick you up.
And actually the girl thatI was talking on messenger
already told me that there will be personwho will pick me up from the terminal.
So I went with that guy.
(35:47):
- [Rich] The two drive inawkward silence for 45 minutes
through a criss crossof unfamiliar streets.
Ruby does not recognize anythingnor does she think it's possible
to remember the way they have taken.
It's a maze.
Rather than the mountainshe's familiar with
this city is an entirely different place.
Noisy, busy, even the sky looks different,closer, less clear.
(36:14):
She is painfully aware thatshe knows not a soul here.
The silent stranger is her oneand only link to well, anything.
When they arrive, the womanis still nowhere to be seen.
The house is plain andlarge from the outside.
(36:38):
There is no greenery around it.
No glimpses of life.
You will meet your bosstomorrow the man tells her.
So it is best if you get some sleep now.
He says it more like a command,stern and final, than a suggestion.
They step out of the carand move toward the front door together.
(36:58):
There's a padlock on thedoor that he pauses to open.
Ruby enters after the manand steps into a hallway.
She watches as several young womenand a young girl of around
eight or nine years oldemerge from a side room partially naked.
Where are their clothes, she thinks.
(37:20):
Why are they half undressed?
The house is dark and hasa strange musty smell.
And she does not knowyet where she will sleep
or what she will eat.
But suddenly none of this matters.
In an instant Ruby is no longer lost.
(37:42):
She knows exactly where she is.
- [Ruby] Oh my goodness.
For me, it was like, what?
You know, it was like abomb exploding in my head.
I was tricked.
(38:06):
- [Rich] On the nextepisode of finding Ruby.
- [Ruby] She actually looked likeshe would give me any time.
She doesn't care at all.
If I get killed there,no one would really know.
♪ Far in the distance. ♪♪ There's a promise. ♪
- [Rich] Finding Rubyis a project of Cadence,
a creative agency forgood in Sydney, Australia.
(38:27):
♪ We're all waiting in the in between. ♪♪ We're all seeking an omen. ♪
This podcast is written and editedby Nikki Florence Thompson
and me, Rich Thompson.
Sound design and mix byme and Brendan Ridley.
The show website whereyou can dive in deeper
into each episode can befound findingruby.com.
(38:51):
Our theme song is Homelandby Searching For Light,
a special thanks to LydiaBowden, Evelyn Pingle,
Meryl Sarco, Lanny Alano,and all the team at IJN in the Philippines
for opening the doors to us.
And of course a big thanks toRuby for telling her story.
And finally, a big thanks to youfor choosing to come on
this journey with us.
(39:13):
We'd be really gratefulif you would take a moment
to rate and review the podcastso that other people can find it two.
We'll see you on the next episode.
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